Mikey Shorts is now available for free. BeaverTap’s brilliant speedrun platformer can now be had for no cost, as the game has been made free with ads on Google Play. This is a permanent change, meant to get more players to play this mobile gaming classic, and to promote Mikey Hooks, which is still available as a premium game.

Don’t worry if you already own Mikey Shorts: publisher Noodlecake Games has made it so that if you bought the game already, you won’t see ads.

There might be a zillion RPGs, and countless board games, and twice as many hidden objects games… no matter the time frame, or the medium of gaming, there will always be a place for arcade action gaming.

Always.

Mikey Hooks, which comes to us via platform heavyweight Noodlecake Studios and BeaverTap Games, is just one of those games, and I admit that I had pretty much decided to like it at first glance.

It is a 2D platform game, and the general concept is to move rightwards, avoid the obstacles, pick up the goodies and survive till the end of the level. Visually, it’s not as outwardly festive at the beginning as preceding title Mikey Shorts; the scenery here feels a bit darker versus the initial outdoorsy look of the predecessor, but the concept is the same: people need rescuin’, and rescuin’ (with aplomb) is what Mikey is all about.

The initial frame gives a decent idea of the gameplay and how to use the given controls; there iare two direction buttons that guide our hero in either direction, and there is a red jump button and a blue slide button. When double tapped, he red button initiates a bigger jump, and when there is a large gulf and a hook present, double tapping then holding the red button allows Mikey to use a special rope to swing from one end to the other, Tarzan-style. There is gold and hearts lives to be collected by contact, but some are placed precariously.

The obstacles and dangers are plenty and varied; spiked animated objects and walls; some parts of the play area move, so timing is a huge part of success. Finishing a level is not enough; the faster the better, because these obstacle courses are timed, and stars are awarded based on speed.

The in-app shop is full of extras to buy… heads ropes and more.

I thought the controls could be a bit more refined, and I would have liked more bi-directional action and time bonuses. All in all, its familiar, but still loads of fun, and can be as involving as one lets it.

Enjoyed Mikey Shorts, but thought “I can’t wait to play more of it?” Well, good news, consumer – Mikey Hooks, the sequel to the speedrun platformer, now featuring grappling hook action, is coming on April 10th. As with the original, it’s a port done by Noodlecake Games. The Android port of the original was well-done, so expect more of the same top quality with this game — only with grappling hooks, and more hats. We’ll have a full review of the game around its release.

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Mikey Shorts is a unique game. Part platformer, part race and with a name so weird you have to play it.

Mikey Shorts is an old school platformer at heart, with plenty of running, jumping and sliding under low walls to be done.

The story is that Mikeyâ€™s friends have been turned to stone and can only be restored by being touched. Restoring his friends to flesh gives Mikey energy, which is then used to break though barriers blocking his progress. Saving all people in a stage wins the stage. Short story scenes take place between levels.

Along the way Mikey can grab coins that can be exchanged for amusing costume items like glasses, makeup and hats. There are no gameplay boosts or other such things to be bought with coins, so Mikey Shorts is all about skill.

Mikey Shorts uses a 3 star system common in games since Angry Birds. Getting three stars is all down to speed. Coins and other gameplay elements donâ€™t factor into the ranking. Getting three stars then almost always leads to an enjoyable frantic dash though a stage where one mistake means the stage might as well be restarted. There is no real benefit to getting three stars, but it is sure fun to try.

A really neat feature is the way the game clocks the player through each section of the stage and how much faster or slower they are compared to their own personal best, this is great for knowing if the player is going to beat their best time or not.

Google Play Games is supported so there are achievements to shoot for and the costumes are fun to buy, even though they have no real gameplay impact.

Mikey Shorts is a very fun game. The frantic gameplay and the gameâ€™s cool retro vibe really make it worth playing.
A problem however is the lack of challenge. Levels are far too easy and some serious Mario style platforming challenges would be welcome. The challenge in Mikey Shorts comes from doing the levels quickly, but they still feel too easy much of the time. This can lead to a lack of replay value as it doesnâ€™t take long to blow though all of the stages.

Mikey Shorts looks great. Pixelated retro graphics give it a clean look and itâ€™s full of old school charm. Levels are full of colour and great to look at.

The sound however doesnâ€™t really match up to the graphics. Jumping and collecting statues makes the same sound only with different pitches and the coin collection sound is nearly identical to Mario. A lot more could have been done with the sound.

Whatâ€™s striking about Mikey Shorts is how high quality it is. The graphics and controls are smooth, there are no nasty ads or grabs for cash and it just comes off as a solid, quality game.

Mikey Shorts is an enjoyable game. While it lacks challenge, it still has a lot of fun gameplay on offer.

BeaverTap Games has teamed up with Noodlecake Games to bring their critically-acclaimed speedrun platformer Mikey Shorts to Android very soon – like next week, around the 20th or 21st. Featuring immacluate controls, this is one of the best speedrun games on iOS, and should be a hit on Android as well. Check out a trailer below.